Back In The Orange Shirt
by Jessika Organa Solo
Summary: How I like to imagine the reunion will happen in Mark of Athena. :


**I haven't published anything in years, so go easy on me. ;) PS, I always hate how the formatting comes out on ff dot net.**

**Just a short little one shot of what I like to imagine Percy and Annabeth's reunion will be like in Mark of Athena. It's probably a little more sappy/adult than Riordan will write it, but hey, they are 16 (almost 17) and I remember what being 16 was like. **

**From Percy's POV.**

**Back in the Orange Shirt**

Although they were all wearing their orange Camp Half-Blood shirts, he spotted her wavy blonde hair immediately, and he could tell that she had already found him as well. Her hand covered her mouth, and he couldn't stop his smile from spreading as he imagined how angry she was going to act to hide her relief at finding him alive.

"Is that her?" Frank asked, watching Percy as Hazel's glance moved between the growing form of the Argo II and Frank.

"Yeah. The one with the long blonde hair. Annabeth," he replied, his smirk growing wider.

Senators and campers mustered around him, but he continued to watch her. The ship was close enough for him to see her turn her head slightly and say, "It's Percy," to a tall blonde guy who stood next to her. Jason? He hoped so. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to keep the Roman campers from killing the Greek campers, but he knew that Jason was going to be the key. But at that moment, he really didn't care.

"Percy!" Hazel whispered urgently, "You had better get up there with Reyna."

Percy reluctantly broke his gaze and looked past the campers that had formed ranks around them. Reyna and Octavian were standing at the front of the formation, looking powerful.

"Yeah, I guess I'd better go," he said, drawing his sword, suddenly self conscious about the toga and purple cape he was wearing. He was sure he looked ridiculous. He wondered to himself which colored t-shirt he would be wearing in a few hours, and if he had to be completely honest, he knew that he wanted to be in an orange shirt. And although Frank and Hazel were Romans, he knew that his place was with the Greeks.

As he arrived at Reyna's side, a plank had extended from the Argo II and Annabeth, Jason, and a few others had disappeared from the upper deck. Percy's heart was racing for several reasons: one obvious, one dangerous.

The waiting was agony. Percy clenched and unclenched his empty hand repeatedly as the entire legion stood in silence. He snuck a peek at Reyna out of the corner of her eyes, and he could see the tension in her clenched jaw, although she presented herself fiercely otherwise.

Jason appeared first, which Percy was sure had been Annabeth's idea. _Athena always has a plan_, he thought to himself with a smirk. Jason's blonde hair was a contrast to Percy's, and his brain told him that the orange shirt was all wrong for Jason. Jason belonged in purple, in a praetor's uniform. And Percy belonged in that orange Camp Half Blood shirt. If it hadn't been clear to him before, it was clear now. Jason belonged here as praetor, not him.

"Greetings!" Jason called, a gasp going through the ranks. Percy realized that Jason was speaking Latin, and if he concentrated hard enough, he could make out the Latin words as his brain automatically translated them to something he could understand.

"Identify yourself, _graecus_!" Reyna demanded.

"I am Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, child of Rome, consul to demigods, and praetor of the First Legion!"

There was silence. Complete silence. Reyna looked like she had swallowed her tongue.

Before anyone could speak, Jason continued, "And I vouch for these Greeks!"

One by one, more demigods walked down the plank and stood beside Jason on the lawn. Annabeth came off last, causing Percy's heart to pound so loudly in his ears that he barely heard Tyson shout, "Annabeth is here!"

He stared at her. She was so hard to read when she was wearing her "battle face" as he liked to call it. Was she the same? More importantly, did she still feel the same? It had been 8 months, which was much longer than they had been officially dating.

Finally, Reyna spoke, and Percy was pulled back to reality. "Jason Grace, you are no longer praetor of this legion. You have abandoned our Legion and joined the ranks of the enemy. Why should we not imprison you right now?"

Percy knew that he needed to speak up. "Because I will vouch for him!" he yelled, stepping forward. He could feel Annabeth's eyes on him, but he held Reyna's gaze, willing her to listen to him. "I relinquish my position as praetor and name Jason Grace as my successor!" He was hoping that he had the power to do that, and apparently, he did, judging by the look on Octavian's face and his angry silence.

Jason stepped forward to meet Percy and they grasped hands firmly. Percy felt like something magical was supposed to happen, but he supposed the faint thunder in the distance was all they were going to get.

Reyna's expression was unreadable as she addressed the remaining Greek demigods. "Percy Jackson has vouched for you. You will be given passage into our camp… with restrictions. You are to stay on our vessel unless attending a senate gathering. We will send a messenger to you."

She paused and looked at Jason. "We have much to discuss."

Addressing the entire camp, she spoke in her loudest voice, "The Senate will convene at sunset!"

Jason and Reyna stepped away without another word, and Percy noticed a dark haired Greek girl watching Jason with a pained expression. But he just couldn't care about that at the moment.

He climbed the plank behind Annabeth and the dark haired girl, doing everything he could to keep himself from reaching out and taking Annabeth's hand. Too many eyes were watching; there was a war on and their reunion was going to have to wait a few more minutes. Tyson and Ella were behind him talking to each other, but Percy couldn't have cared less what they were saying.

His feet hit the deck of the boat and he was overwhelmed by a sea of orange; it looked like half the camp had accompanied Jason, Annabeth, Leo, and Piper on their journey. "Hephestus cabin," Leo said in a low voice in Percy's ear, "They wouldn't take no for an answer."

A demigod he didn't recognize stepped up to him with a folded pair of jeans and an orange t-shirt. "We thought you might want a change of clothes," Annabeth said to him with a small, yet happy smile. They were the first words she had spoken directly to him, and he felt the warmth spread through his body.

"Definitely," he replied, taking the clothes from the unknown camper.

"We, um, we've got a lot of planning to do before the Senate session tonight," Annabeth said to Piper and Leo, who nodded. Piper was trying very hard not to smile.

"Percy, we assigned you a cabin on the upper deck. Annabeth can show you where it is," Leo said, and Percy was sure that he was holding back a smirk as well. Normally this would have embarrassed Percy completely, but didn't care if the entire world knew that he was going to kiss Annabeth the first chance he got.

But his hands shook as they departed the group. Another wave of insecurity hit him. What if Annabeth had lost faith that he would come back? He'd been gone much longer than the time that he had been on Calypso's island, and they had all figured he was dead at that point. And now he was worried. Annabeth's expression didn't do much to assuage his nerves either; she was stone faced and walked a bit ahead of him as they climbed the spiral staircase to the upper deck.

Taking his eyes off her back momentarily, he marveled at the view of Camp Jupiter, which stretched on as far as he could see on this clear day. He wanted to tell Annabeth about the village. He wanted to take her there. He wanted to tell her that when this war was over, he wanted to live there with her.

_To Hades with this waiting_, he thought to himself, grabbing her hand and stopping her from advancing any farther. She whipped her head back so quickly that her hair practically swirled around her head. Percy simultaneously pulled her to him and dropped his spare clothes on the deck. He was going to need both of his hands for this.

He knew he'd caught her off guard when she gasped, and he saw her surprised expression just before he pulled her lips to his.

It hadn't truly registered with him how much he had missed her until he felt her body against his, her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her. His arm around her waist held her tightly against him and his right hand on her neck kept her lips to his, although there didn't seem to be any danger of her pulling away.

The wetness on his palm was his first clue that she was crying. He broke their kiss so that he could look at her, her stormy grey eyes now full of tears. It was so rare to see Annabeth crying that he barely knew what to do or say. She was now biting her lip in attempt to hold back sobs, which broke Percy's heart.

"Oh Annabeth," he said, gripping her shoulders as his own voice became thick with emotion.

"I've been so lost without you, Seaweed Brain," she managed to say before being overcome with grief and sobs, burying her face in his toga, "But I knew you were alive. I didn't give up this time."

He leaned back and hooked his finger under her chin to get her to lift her head. "There are so many things I want to tell you, and some things I want to show you. But Annabeth," he paused, his throat now feeling very tight as he choked back a mixture of fear and tears, his hand on his chest as he swallowed with difficulty, "I just want to tell you how completely in love with you I am. I-I just… I love you so much. More than anything." He felt a single tear roll down his cheek, but he was okay with it, because if anyone deserved his heart and his tears, it was her.

Percy shouldn't have worried about her reaction; deep down, he knew that she felt the exact same way. She smiled but placed her hand over her mouth to hold back more sobs; he could see the smile in her watery grey eyes and he answered with a smile of his own as he pulled her back into his arms.

He couldn't stand to let her out of his site, but he knew that she would still be on the other side of his cabin door after he finished changing. Slipping into his orange shirt, his body and his brain finally decided that things had returned to normal. The longing for his memories faded instantly; he was back where he belonged.

After glancing around the room, which had been decorated with care, Percy opened the door and beckoned Annabeth inside.

"Tell me everything," they both said at once. Annabeth's face softened into a smile as she sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to her.

"I'm pretty sure we're not going to be doing any talking if you expect me to sit next to you," he said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and he responded, "Hey, I haven't seen you in 8 months! What do you expect?"

She giggled. Annabeth actually giggled. "Okay, we have to at least talk strategy for this meeting so that we can brief everyone else before we have to go down to the senate."

Percy groaned. "Seriously? There is no way I can concentrate on that right now."

"Percy," she sighed, "I know what you mean, but this isn't just about us."

He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms before she could protest. "But can't it be about us for like, an hour? I'll even let you set the alarm on your phone," he whispered in her ear, following up his request with several kisses on her neck. "I really missed you," he whispered.

"Okay, one hour," she said breathlessly, tangling her hands in his hair.

He glanced up to see if the door to his cabin was shut, and he noticed that she had already locked it.

* * *

It was clear to anyone that was watching: Percy and Annabeth were still together and as strongly as ever. She was able to comport herself with dignity during the senate gathering, but Percy was almost too intoxicated by her to think. They sat beside each other on the raised platform, opposite Jason and Reyna, as Reyna and Annabeth debated the Prophecy of Seven. Percy knew he had to keep his hands to himself because of all of the campers watching, but that fact didn't make it any easier, and he found himself brushing his leg against hers. He assumed she didn't mind though, because she didn't move her leg away, and several times she even smirked and glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes.

Despite his Annabeth-induced stupor, Percy did notice that Jason was looking out at Piper an awful lot. He and Annabeth had barely had a chance to talk before the senate session, so he hadn't gotten any information on these new campers. He'd ask her tomorrow after he had a good night's sleep. It seemed that he would need it, as the senate voted to allow Hazel, Jason, and Frank to leave on the quest the very next morning (with some thunder as an influence, of course.)

* * *

Sleep wasn't going to come easily for Percy. It had been hours since he had walked Annabeth to her door and reluctantly said goodnight, sensing that she was having flashbacks from the night he disappeared. He promised her that he would still be here in the morning, and that if he wasn't, she had his permission to kidnap Hera.

After that, he had visited with Tyson on the lower decks and eventually made his way back to his cabin to get some sleep. He missed Frank and Hazel's company and wondered what they had been up to. He hadn't been able to speak with them since the Argo II had arrived, and there were so many things he wanted to talk about and people he wanted to introduce them to. He knew he would get his chance the following morning.

Most of all, he missed Annabeth. And the fact that she was three doors down from him was complete torture.

After tossing and turning in his bed for at least another hour, he gave up and put his clothes back on, resorting to pacing in his cabin while his brain ran a mile a minute. His mother was going to kill him if he didn't find a way to contact her before going on the new quest. How was Camp Half-Blood holding up? So many questions.

He stopped trying to fight his brain and slipped his shoes on, deciding to go for a walk and explore Leo's handiwork. But he didn't make it any farther than the door of Cabin A. She was pulling him in, like always.

He gently turned the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. With a smile, he opened the door just wide enough for him to slip in.

Annabeth's hair spilled all around her on the bed, glowing slightly in the moonlight that came in from her window, a feature which Percy's cabin did not have. Percy closed the door as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake her.

Looking around her room, he quickly spotted a photo of them together. He remembered the photo clearly; Selena had taken it just before the Titan War. Percy had flung his arm around Annabeth for the photo and she had leaned into him to his surprise. He noticed in the photo that her hand had been on his knee, and the thought of those days brought a smile to his face… always fighting with her and always thinking about her.

He moved over to her bed, gently moving a piece of hair away from her face with his fingertips. Her face was so peaceful; he couldn't help but trace her jawline with his finger.

"Annabeth," he whispered in her ear, leaning over her sleeping form. He would have just climbed in bed with her and not woken her, but the bed was small and she seemed to be somewhat of a bed hog.

"Percy, is something wrong?" her eyes flew open. The thought that she was so battle hardened made his heart hurt a little.

"No," he smiled, "I just couldn't stand the thought that you were just a few rooms down the hall and I wasn't with you."

He saw the sleepy smile cross her face as she scooted over and pulled back the covers, inviting him to lie down. He kicked off his shoes and slid in beside her, wrapping both of his arms around her so that they would fit on the twin sized bed. She smelled so good, like clean air and seawater. He put his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, finally feeling like he could get some sleep. "I love you, Percy," she whispered, putting her hand on his cheek.

He couldn't help but smile almost goofily at her words. "I love you too," he whispered, sliding his hand up her arm to move her thumb to his lips so that he could kiss it.

She had seen his SPQR tattoo earlier, but this was her first chance to mention it. "Did it hurt?" she whispered, her fingers brushing the trident.

"Uhh, kind of."

"What does SPQR mean?"

"It is the motto of the Roman Legion. Senatus Populusque Romanus." He laced his fingers through hers, bringing her hand to his lips. Part of him wished he didn't have the tattoo, but the part of him that wanted to stop Gaea knew that cooperation between the Romans and Greeks would be required for years to come. And perhaps his membership in the Legion would afford him some of the same rights as the Romans who lived in the village. Annabeth wanted something permanent, and so did he.

"Before we leave tomorrow, I want to show you something. A place that maybe we can go when… um, when this war is over," Percy said hesitantly, looking into Annabeth's now bright eyes.

"What is it?"

A horde of butterflies invaded his stomach. Why did he always feel like this around her… so sure yet unsure? "It's um, a city. Where demigods can live. And go to school and have families."

"What?" her voice full of wonder.

"Yeah, it's in the valley. Hazel showed it to me once. There are adult demigods there, with families and stuff. And jobs."

"I want to see it. Can you see it from the deck?" her voice was full of excitement.

"You should be able to. We're not that far away."

She started climbing out of bed, pulling him with her. "Show me," she commanded him with a smile.

They walked hand in hand as they tiptoed to the edge of the upper deck, hoping that they hadn't woken any of their fellow Greeks. Annabeth saw a faint glow in the distance and squinted to make it out, standing at the railing and leaning over a bit.

Percy felt cold and vulnerable without her body pressed against his, so he came up behind her, putting his hands on either side of hers on the railing. "That's it over there, beyond that statue," he whispered in her ear.

She leaned her back into his chest and took his hands, wrapping his arms around her in a hug as she stared out at the city. "We'll come back here, Percy."

"And build something permanent," he whispered.


End file.
